Al Mamun Harun Ur Rashid :
A long-standing humanitarian emergency that began with the mass exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar in 2017 will take centre stage at the United Nations on Tuesday.
The General Assembly convened a high-level conference to press for concrete action on the refugees’ protection, repatriation, and the reduction of life-saving aid.
Bangladesh will urge the world’s diplomatic machinery to move beyond statements of sympathy and toward a coordinated plan that links funding, political pressure on Myanmar, and regional burden-sharing.
The day-long conference dedicated to the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar will take place at the UN General Assembly Hall in New York, bringing together UN member states, donor agencies, humanitarian actors, and, significantly, Rohingya representatives themselves.
Bangladesh, which now shelters more than 1.25 million Rohingya in 34 camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf, is at the forefront of this effort. Of those, eight hundred thousand arrived in a matter of months after Myanmar’s 2017 military crackdown.
New displacement has not stopped. UNHCR data shows that from January through August this year, 96 boats carried nearly 4,000 Rohingya across the Naf River into Bangladesh, the highest number of sea arrivals in the past four years.
The humanitarian burden is growing as international funding shrinks. By August 31, Bangladesh had received $104.3 million in aid for Rohingya support this year, leaving a shortfall of $151.2 million against the $255.5 million required. The gap has forced ration cuts and created new risks in the already overcrowded camps.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus will call for a sustainable and long-term solution, while highlighting the humanitarian cost Bangladesh continues to bear.
He is also expected to revisit the seven-point proposal he tabled at last month’s Cox’s Bazar dialogue, a three-day consultation that brought together international partners and Rohingya voices to shape recommendations for gathering.
The UN General Assembly President Annelena Baerbock, senior UN officials, ASEAN’s special envoy on Myanmar Osman Hashim, UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi, UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk, and a number of Rohingya community leaders including Wai Wai Nu and Mong Sawyedullah are among those addressing the opening session.
The day is divided into three segments: an inaugural session, member state statements, and a closing session to be chaired by the General Assembly president. Proceedings run from 10 am to 6 pm New York time, with a two-hour recess in the afternoon.
Diplomatic sources in Dhaka confirmed that the aim is to consolidate political cooperation, refocus global attention on the Rohingya crisis, and identify root causes.
The meeting will also consider pathways for voluntary, safe, and dignified repatriation to Myanmar, as well as long-term strategies to stabilize humanitarian conditions in the region.
Bangladesh’s Foreign Ministry underlined that this is the first time the General Assembly has convened such a conference on Rohingya under its president’s leadership.
The idea of holding a conference originated from Yunus’s proposal at last year’s UNGA, which won swift international support and was formalised through a consensus resolution.
Officials say the expectation now is that the meeting will deliver not just words, but an actionable and time-bound roadmap to resolve a crisis that has dragged on for nearly a decade.
Whether that goal is met will depend not only on the pledges announced from the conference but also on Myanmar’s willingness to engage in the process.
Without that, analysts caution, even this unprecedented conference may risk being another symbolic moment in a crisis that has already stretched for too long.
Prof Imtiaz Ahmed, formerly director of the Centre for Genocide Studies at Dhaka University, has repeatedly said that high-level conferences often fail to deliver much beyond financial pledges.
A few days before the UNGA meeting, he remarked that “a large conference without prior homework won’t be effective.”
He suggested that before convening global leaders, Bangladesh and its partners must secure bilateral engagements with key powers like China, India, Japan, and the United States, laying groundwork that might transform broad statements into enforceable actions.
Talking to the New Nation, Prof Imtiaz says, Myanmar must be present at these global forums, actively participating, not merely observed or spoken about.
“Without Myanmar’s representative, much of what is discussed risks remaining academic,” he said.
Prof Yunus, leading the Bangladeshi delegation at the UNGA, repeatedly focused on international funding, legal accountability, and pressure on Myanmar to recognise Rohingya citizenship and rights.
He framed Bangladesh not only as host but also as burdened by the long-term effects of displacement on its economy, environment, and social systems.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has echoed many of these themes: the need for political pressure on Myanmar, sustained funding, and protection of human rights around the situation of the Rohingya.
The question many analysts like Prof Imtiaz Ahmed are asking is whether the world has built sufficient leverage to force Myanmar’s full participation, and whether promises will be anchored in accountability.
Bangladesh and others called on Myanmar to accelerate verification of Rohingya return eligibility, to restore civil and political rights, and to cooperate with international bodies investigating alleged atrocities.
